Our transit continued, driven by a desire to make it to a rumored funeral in the Tana Toraja, north of

Makassar.

The luxury bus service left from the outskirts of town. I suspected luxury was perhaps an over emphasis
of the quality of any transportation this close to the equator, but in this case I was pleasantly surprised.
The seats had as much leg room as a business class seat, with working recline and a leg rest to boot.

We boarded the bus just before ten o’clock and began the snarling route along the western coast of
Southern Sulawesi. Roaring through picturesque seaside villages along the pot holed road which
regularly turned to dirt track. Buses trips are often crammed, cramped and uncomfortable. This was
opposite the bus was half empty.

We elected to the trip during the day, A good decision. The view as you wind in the mountains are
spectacular, but the road hugs cliff faces and the experience would have been far more harrowing
experience by night. Aiding to the thrill of night driving is the desire of many locals to replace their
headlights with Christmas lights. They offer little illumination but their coloured blips flicker up and
down the roads at high speed.

The journey lasted over ten hours, we arrived in Rantepao at 8:00pm and from the moment we stepped
off the bus it was clear it was low season in Sulawesi.

Guides and totes swarmed offering their services to find a hotel and always keen to lockdown any
business. Antone, a particular keen tote, snared us at the entrance to our hotel. Nat was under the
mistaken impression he was a member of staff. Letting him lead us to various rooms, negotiating a price
and ultimately handing over the room keys. To our surprise he was a guide and firmly set about
providing us with a best value deal.

I being tired bluntly refused to discuss the possibility with him. But Antone offered to wait outside our
room, come back at a set time and even come with us to dinner to lock down a deal. We politely refused
and thought we had seen the last of out new ‘friend’.

The old saying the early bird catches the worm is readily applied here. On leaving for dinner Antone
appeared again, waiting to explain the benefits of his services. We brushed him aside and continued our
stroll to a nearby restaurant. ‘Fortunately’ Antone poses ‘traveler ESP’ (or perhaps better described
Lonely Planet premonitions), and managed to jump on his scooter speed through the back streets and
gain a prime position at our intended destination. Needless to say he feigned surprise at our arrival at
one of his favourite culinary establishments.

After dinner Antone struck affirming a range of quotes, options and itineraries, and finally offering to
swing by in the morning to finalise details.

Whilst it was a comical affair to witness underlying his desperation is the almost complete lack of
tourists at this time of year and in the long term a massive declie in tourism from both the 1970’s and
more recently as a result of the Bali bombings in 2002. Over 70 guides operate in Rantepao year round,
with the majority of their work centred on the busy tourism period between